Office of the President

Welcome to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology!

Jan
Puszynski became the School of Mines interim president in May 2017 when former
president Heather Wilson was confirmed by the US Senate as the 24th
Secretary of the Air Force.

Dr.
Puszynski is not new to the university. He has been educating
undergraduate and graduate students at SD Mines for nearly 26 years, joining
the faculty in 1991 as a professor of chemical engineering. During his tenure
in Rapid City, he has established a national and international reputation in
materials research and received several multi-million-dollar research awards.

Since
1996, Puszynski has been the principal investigator on several research and
development projects funded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center and other
Department of Defense organizations. His expertise is in reaction engineering,
energetic materials, materials science, and mathematical modeling of reactive
systems.

Prior
to his time at School of Mines, Puszynski worked as a research professor in the
chemical engineering department at State University of New York at Buffalo. His
undergraduate and master’s degrees in chemical engineering are from the
Technical University in Wroclaw, Poland. His Ph.D. in chemical engineering was
awarded by the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague.

A
presidential search process at School of Mines is underway. Contingent on a
successful search, a new president will be appointed this fall to begin duties
on or around January 1, 2018.

“My goal is to make the transition as
smooth as possible and most importantly to continue to support student success,
retention, and recruitment and to make sure faculty and staff have the
resources they need to continue to do the excellent work this university is
known for. I will be president only for a little while, but during the coming
months I will strive to continue the excellent work and programs started by past
President Heather Wilson and to pave the way for new leadership at this
university,” stated Puszynski.

I invite you to stop in to say hello, send an email, or send me a note:

(Please be sure to provide your contact information so I may respond to you.)